Tuner Etiquette

[White GTS-T]

I just wanted to hear peoples thought/opinions on either dropping your car off or staying with it at the tuners.

I ask, because recently i booked my car in to get a tune and they were instant that i 'drop it off' and 'pick it up' when its done.

If it's only going to be there for a couple of hours why can't i hang around? What's the big deal if i stay and watch while they tune it? Is it because people just generally don't like to be watched while they're working? Is it because people kick up a stink when they're paying a $100 an hour for dyno time and the tuner might be working on something else in between time? Is it an insurance issue with customers in the workshop or is there something I'm missing altogether?

It's not that i don't trust the tuners, if i didn't i wouldn't have booked the car in in the first place, I'm just curious to see the whole process and learn how everything's done.

I'm interested to hear other peoples experiences, did you stay and watch your car getting tuned?

[Birnie]

I tuned up yesterday and had to drive 1.5hrs to get there.

It's in an industrial type place so there was nothing else to do but hang around.

Spent the time gorking at other cars and dreaming.

Heaps of Mazdas and then a GTO turned up on a flatbed looking sweeet.

I listened to the tune runs being performed and wanted to be there in case he wanted to ask me stuff...which he did about the gaps in the plugs.

Helped him taking the plugs out regap and put em back.

Awesome day even if i didn't get to watch the whole thing close up...could have from the garage door but u can't see crap anyway

Are they charging by the hour?

Then i'd be suspect.

Isn't it just a pre agreed amount?

Any reason for this particular tuner? Maybe go somewhere else where they don't mind.

[Sl!m]

They probably get people that hang there being a pain in the ass constantly asking 100's of questions and slowing down the whole process

but most places I have been to generally dont mind if you hang around and wait for the car, just has to be out of the workshop or what ever.

[R34GTFOUR]

If they said drop it off and pick it up later that means that generally means that they have a few other things on and they just want your car there ready to go when they are done finshing what ever they are doing. I personally have stuck with my car and watched it get tuned, and if your keen to stick around for a few hours just ask them and im sure they wont have a problem, they might just let you know that you will be sitting around for 3-4hrs.

Another reason they might not want you there is that it is pretty surprising how quickly they can tune a car. When the car is on and off the dyno in an hour and your coffing up a grand for the tune some people might start thinking its a tad extreme (even though dynos a bloody expensive to buy). Something like a powerfc doesnt have an absolute shocking map out of factory and most of the time they can clean up the map very quickly, and with something like a safc that would be done in 10mins.

Either way its up to you, if you have a day to burn why not sit and watch your car get tuned, its a good learning experience.

[2BNVS]

i know my tuners very well so i get to watch/help out etc etc... i have been at my tuners when ppl ask a million and 1 questions, which i spose could get annoying when ur trying to tune their car, buthe says in the end its their car, they deserve to know whats going on, whats what etc etc

ben...

[Haysey]

I hung around while I was getting my boost controller tuned, they asked me questions on the car, what boost i wanted to run, mods, even where the instructions for the controller were... pretty lucky i was there didnt bother them and i was helpful...

[tek_01]

it really depends on the place and who is doing it. Pretty much all places do not let you inside the workshop for safety/insurance reason but the smaller type workshops usually let you stay and watch. Me personally i dont like places that make you wait in a waiting room without the option of having a look, even if it is from far away and not right next to it

[Munkyb0y]

on my first tune, i asked the tuner if i could come into the dyno room coz its all new to me. he said they usually dont allow that, insurance/safety reasons, but he let me anyway, as long as i stayed in front of the car during the runs. he even showed me around the equipment etc. i asked 100 questions. he didnt mind.

i think its important to see it all at least once, as it gives you some faith in the tuner, and the whole process.

Edited September 19, 2007 by Munkyb0y

[Mark_McQ]

I remember seeing a picture of some garage somewhere and their labour charge sign read something along the lines of:

Labour charge - £40

If you watch - £60

If you want to help - £90

[Wink]

My mechanic lets me hang around and ask any questions I have.

This is not only during a tune but also during routine servicing.

This also give me chance to look at the car myself and have a poke around underneath the car making sure there isn't anything out of order.

Not only that, I learn a lot asking him about the car or when he points out stuff to me.

Honestly, I couldn't ever go to another mechanic who doesn't let me have full freedom around the car during servicing.

[R31Nismoid]

I drop mine off, and pick it up 3-4 days later when i get called

A good tune takes time. It does not happen in 1-2 hours "while you wait" IMO.

Although that does depend on the level of modification to the car to an extent also.

[saliya]

I just wanted to hear peoples thought/opinions on either dropping your car off or staying with it at the tuners.

I ask, because recently i booked my car in to get a tune and they were instant that i 'drop it off' and 'pick it up' when its done.

I'm interested to hear other peoples experiences, did you stay and watch your car getting tuned?

Your car. You're paying. Choose what you want.

There will be workcover/insurance etc. problems with going into the workshop area; so "with" might mean "close but not quite with".

Don't get upset with a workshop that says 'this particular area's off limits'. For example, you should never be allowed near/under

a hoist.

But there's no reason you shouldn't be able to watch your car being tuned from some non-workshop-area vantage point if

that's important to you.

If you want this; but the tuner's not up for it - find another tuner. They're there to do what _you_ want,

not the other way around.

Regards,

Saliya

[funkymonkey]

I do a lil work at driftline and the only time at when we let people wait is if we're doing a fluid change or something simple, most other things take more time as usually cars don't get started on straight away once they're dropped off, most of the guys will already be working on another car.

Usually we invite the owner to come in and be given a quick rundown while the car's being worked on (eg once the gearbox has been pulled off if the car came in for a clutch change)... but no unsupervised visitors inside workshop premises. They're more than welcome to sit in the lounge and watch some Option vids or read some mags (or go thru the VACC guidebook lol).

most workshops don't like people hanging around inside their workshop for OHS reasons, so will only let you wait if they have an office. And offices in some workshops are usually a seat a couple of mags and a coffee machine in something the size of your bathroom. Sometimes they don't like you hanging around, as some customers get unnecessarily alarmed over standard procedures.

[scathing]

For me, it depends. Most workshops tend to be in the middle of nowhere, so what can you do but wait?

I had my car tuned at CRD when I first got my ECU, and I was told it'd take a while since it was a tune from scratch. They just drove me down to the cinemas at Auburn and I caught two movies. When I get my car serviced at Pro Concept I walk down to Maccas and get some food, and bring a book or laptop with me. However, at some workshops that's not even an option.

Officially they have OH&S rules that say you can't be in the workshop, but most ignore that. I've walked straight past a "only authorised staff permitted beyond this point" sign at some shop without any bad word being said, and pored over other customers' cars. That said, I've generally been known to the guys so its not like I'm some complete stranger.

Some customers are (to put it bluntly) a pain in the arse. Asking inane questions, trying to tell them how to do their job, etc. And of course there's "performance anxiety" when the customer is there hovering. So rather than making the mechanics nervous and increasing the possibility of something going wrong, they might just ask people to not be there.

Personally, I think if you can be somewhere else then be somewhere else. You either trust the workshop, or you don't. If its the latter, don't go there at all.

[mesmerized]

i've yet to have my car tuned on the dyno (still saving up for decent ECU), but all other work -service etc. the guys at NBP are more than happy for me to hang around while they work on the car, and are more than happy for me to ask questions etc. but i'm always concious not to get in they're way, ask too many questions, as i'll either start to annoy them or slow them down

i love the fact i have the option to stay while they work, particularly seeing as the majority of stuff i've booked in for only takes an hour or two, and it's hardly worth catching a bus back home if it's only going to take that long

being able to stay makes the whole experience alot more personal, and i trust them more if i have that option

[fresh]

i've had my car tuned once and been on the dyno 2 other times and after the first time watching it i'm in no real hurry to go back and watch it get tuned, 2 hours of dyno runs with the tuner making small adjustments isn't my idea of fun anyways

[Roy]

If you dont trust your car in their hands for a few hours or a day or two ... then you shoudlnt trust them to tune it (irrespective of whether you are there or not) Perhaps you need to find another tuner ????

[Onthehunt]

I know the guys at the workshop that do all the work on the car well so I can hang around with them and watch if i want. I sat in the car with him when he was tuning the power fc the whole time and he didnt mind explaining what he was doing either but then again I know them well.

[R338OY]

Every time i've been to a mechanic i get "We'll call you when it's ready, mate". I haven't had my car tuned yet, i'm selling my limbs on Ebay to fund a tune, but i already expect the same treatment from tuners, unless i get to know them a little bit.

I can understand the whole 'annoying customer thing' cause i've experienced that- i hate customers watching me work!

Guess it depends if the tuner minds or not.

[White GTS-T]

Hey guys, well thanks for all your replies. After going to the tuners on Tuesday, when my car was originally booked in, the tuner was in Melbourne so i had to book in again for this morning. I reluctantly dropped my car off this morning after asking the tuner if i could hang around to watch. He said there were too many insurance issues with customers in the shop, that plus there's more pressure on the tuner and he's more likely to make mistakes. So that was all good, dropped off the car at 8am and received a call just after 12pm to come and pick it up. Although i must say i was a little confused to see a customer standing right in front of his car while it was doing some runs on the dyno...but thats not really my place to say.

But on the other hand i couldn't be more pleased with the results! I don't have a dyno graph to post up which is a bit dissapointing but the tuner said the car is putting out 170rwkw!!! (but i'm not to sure about that...)

Car is R32 GTS-T with RB20DET mods include: Greddy VSP-L FMIC, 3" Turbo back exhaust with high flow cat, M's filter with CAI, Walbero fuel pump, Apexi SAFCII and thats it!

I know it seems high but he said that even he was surprised how hard it pulled once he leaned it out. He trimmed the fuel maps by -12% on full boost, which just goes to show how rich it was running! He trimmed them even more for cruising, up to -16%, so i should get heaps better fuel economy.

The transition from low to high throttle is seamless, the car feels a lot more linear and heaps more responsive. I just can't believe how well its running, it really does pull a lot harder now, its insane. Its completely transformed the car 100%. By far the best mod I've done to the car!